Apron disk transmission mechanism



Aug- 4, 1931 F. B. cocKBURN 1,816,960

APRON DISK TRANSMISSION MECHANISM Filed Dec. 21, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 vli/ Aug- 4, 193.1- F. B. cocKBuRN 1,816,960

APRON DISK TRANSMISSION MECHANISM Filed Dec. 21, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Aug. 4, 1931. F. B. cocKBURN APRON DISK TRANSMISSION MECHANISM 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Deo. 21, 1927 Jn/vanto@ We WM.

YPatented Aug. 4, 1931 -QUNIIED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE FRANCIS B.CoCKBUn-N, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, AssIGNOn To THnLoDGn & SHIPLEY MACHINEToor. COMPANY, or CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF onIo APRON DISKTRANSMSSION MECHANISM Application filed December 21, 1927. Serial No.241,505.

y yThis invention relates to friction clutch ymechanism of `compactarrangement and adaptable for mounting upon a lathe apron,

t I and leveroperated for providing apowerful '5 friction means forfeeding the carriage jon gagino' a pair of adjacently disposed gearsvwith rthe friction controlled and operated by a threadedknob'accessible and extending from the forward or faceside of the latheapron, the knob lockingA or clamping the two '15 friction mated memberstogether thereby rotating Awith the gearing when the transmission iscoupled. When the lathe is running yat highy speed the knob consequentlyrevolves f 'rapidly making it difficult for the operator to 0 graspA fordisengaging the frictions. The exposed rotating 'knob constantlypresents an injury-hazard to the operator and constitutes a hand knobkwith rwhichthe operator cannot turn with sufficient leverage l* tobring the frictions together under a pressureffor connecting the drivingmembers to carry the requiredcut.' Y kThis results inconsiderableslippage between the friction surfaces so thatV frequent tightening isrequired.

With the present invention the friction clutch is operated by a handlever normally stationary except when swung to operate the clutchmembers and can be convenientlylocated and easily operated.tomeifectively engage the frictions'under heavy leverage, re-

ducing slippage between the friction sur faces and with, less slippagethe durability of the friction surfaces is increased. To engage thefrictions, the lever is .swung lupwardly and for releasing is swungdowni wardly, the operator beingrequired merely to'strile the lever withforce to sufficiently trip it, whereupon it will drop by gravityoperating the clutch actuating parts and hold the clutch and parts in ,areleased position under the weight of the lever..

- Thevhandle at is pivoted end isr formed to house and guard therotative parts of the frictioncontrolling mechanism which'exy tends orprotrudes from the forward side of the apron thus eliminatesfthe injuryhazard' and also protects the parts from the chips or cuttings of thelathe.

It is therefore an object of thefinvention to provide cooperatingfriction clutch members with an actuating rod or shaft vfixed to one ofthe members and movable laxially or longitudinally by a lever swingingon a pivot transverse of the shaft with the pivoted end of the leverhousing and adapted to Contact and move the shaft for clutchcontrol.

vide a lathe apron withV friction operated disks respectively for thecarriage travellers feed anda tool slide cross feed, each includingdriving and driven gears journalled upon the lathe apron adapted to befrictionallycoupled with the controlling mechanism therefor .mountedcoaxially with the coupling gears accessible fromthe forward side of thelathe apron and actuated by a lever mounted upon the lathe apron formedto house the controlling mechanism and operatively connected therewith,the lever preferably being mounted for a releasing control, whereby theweight ofthe lever can be utilized for holding the parts in neutral orinactive position.

Further objects and features will be more fully set forth in adescription of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification, in which:

Figure l is a front elevation of the intermediate portion of a latheapron containing the improved vtransmission mechanism and controlfor thetraversingy feed .of the apron and carriage and the cross feed of thetool holding slide, a portion being broken away to illustrate theconstruction of certain parts which would Otherwise be hidden. y

l Figure 2 is an enlarged section'on line 2'2, Figure 1, showing thecontrol mechanism for the traverse feed ofthe carriage, with themechanism shown in its active position.

Figure v3 is a View similar to Figure k2 with the parts in an inactiveposition.

Figure 4 is an enlarged section on line 1 -4, Figurel, showing thegearing and control of the cross feed screw.

Figure 5 is an enlarged top plan view of AAnother object of theinvention is to proy theY gearing carried by the apron, with portionsshown in section.

Figure 6 is a section on line 6-6, Figure 3. Figure 7 is an enlargedsection on line 7 7, Figure 1. Y Y

Figure 8 is a section on line 8 8, Figure 4. Figure 9isacentral sectionthrough a modified form of' friction for connecting the concentricallymounted transmission gear vupon-the control-rod, employing frictiondisks in lieuof the cone disk shown'in Figure 4l.

As the invention is primarily disclosed inl connection with atransmission mechanism carried by the carriage apron of a lathe foreither feeding or translating the Vcarriage upon thelathe bed or thetool slide in a cross feed upon the carriage, the structure in litsparticular embodiment is complete so that no illustration liao been medeof a vfull lathe feo organization, thedrawings merely illustrating aiportionofthe lathe carriage apron carlrylne the transmission geeringflefe'rringto the drawings, l indicates the cross plate of the'carriage,which although notsho'wmis slida'bly mounted upon the rails o-f thelathe bed and carries the conventional type of tool cross slide. Thecross plate has t' e usual depending `apron 2 within which thetransmission mechanism for traversing the Acarriage along the lathe .bedandi moving the cross slide upon'the carriage is mounted. 3 indicates afeed or power shaft lextending longitudinally of the lathe bed Vandiii-rear of the apron, and receives its power from the 4 head en d ofthe lathe and may be referredV to as adriving shaft for transmitting thegearing carried by theapron. v

VThe lsh ft is splined longitudinallyiand eX- tends throughandrotativelyconnects with aidouble v.bevel gear sleevell which. is:journalled and slidable within a bearing mounted ontheapron.` The gearsof the sleeve 4 are adapted to be alternately engaged with a singlebevel gear. .G keyed upon'the hub of a pinion 7 revolving looselyv upona stud 8 eX- tending from the 'apronpas shown in Figure 7- 'Une vpinion7 engagesjwitll a gear .Qand has' internal eone friction (see Figures 2and 3) formed inthe faoe thereof. for ,engage mentwith-tlie!frotion feceoftli'e friction The gear 17 meshes with an intermediate gear 18 whichVin turn meshes with a gear 19 keyed to the cross feed screw.

In both instances, the gear carrying the external cone friction membersrepresents the movable element of the friction clutch actuated forclutching and unclutching-with the gear having internal cone friction,the gears being compressibly engaged when'clutched so as to rotate as aunit. Thus, for thecarriage travelling control the gear 11 and itsfriction disk are shifted and for the cross feed screw .the gearr andits cone friction 16. The cone friction for the gear 15 is representedas formed integral with the gear while for the gear 11 a Vcone disk 10is keyed to the hub of the gear, the different constructions beingsolely for convenience in manufactur- .lnge Y i The gears 9 and 17'having internal friction Surfaces are each vprovided with an eX- tendedhub journalled or bearinged in the aprony and extended beyond the outerside of the apron to carry the mechanism for shift- Aing the movableclutch elements. Likewise,

inlboth instances, the movable clutch member Vwith its -gearis'mountedupon a shaft concentrically engaged through the extended hubof its cooperating clutch member or gear insuch relative position thatthe gearing friction clutch actuating or clutch controlling mechanism isvery .compactly arranged and adapted tobe operated by a hand lever ill aconvenient location on the front ,face of the apron. The'lever housesthe rotating lparts at the forward end which otherwise would protrudefrom the apron 'following the Conimon screwv practise ofthe rotatingthread knob which is more or less objectionable as the knob necessarilyrotates with the gearing 3 when locked together, so that when the in a-Chne is running.'atfliighspeed the knob is revolved rapidly and it isdiiicult to disengage due -to its speed. i l y `YVith thepresentimprovement the y,hand lever isnon-rotative and swings a verticaldirection for l the clutch control, being moved upwardly forhringing theparts into clutching position and depressed or swung downwardlyforreleasingthesame. The operator .can quickly release itby merelytapping thellever, relying. on Vthe weight of the lever to move thepartsfor unclutching. lViththe lever Vgreaterpower is obtained for throwingin the clutch or for increased durability of the friction-surfaces'asthere is less slippage when the frictions are forciblyengaged.

vAs the clutching mechanism for both the travellerfeed for the carriageand the cross feed for the vtool slide are the yduplicate of one anotherthe descr-iptionas'to detail of construction will be directed to onlyone of them,g although it will 'be equally applicable to both, vsothat,y the same reference Anumerals ino ' of journalled in a bearing ofthe apron while are yemployed for the corresponding parts of lwith theinternal friction surfaces constitute the driving Vgears while thosecarrying the external friction, the driven gears, and such distinctionis usedy herein for designation only. Y

The driving gear as either the gear 9 or 17 has an extended hub 20 fromone side therethe driven gear 1l or l5 is mounted upon a shaft 2lconcentrically engaged and journalled in the hub QO'and extending beyondthe end thereof and adaptedto be shifted longitudinally While bringingthe friction elements `into or out of clutching engagement.

The hub 20 extendsbeyond .the bearing of the apron and is confined orretained against axial movement by a yoke plate or half washer 22 fixedto the apron and engaged into an annular rgroove 23 in the hub. A spool24 is yslidably mounted upon the forward end of the huband is providedwith an annular groove 25`into which the oppositely disposed shoes26,carriedby-the yokes of a hand lever 27, engage for shifting the spoolupon the hub. The hand lever 27 is of yoke or hollow kformation toenclose or cover the spool 24C and thrust collars mounted on the end ofthe shaft 19 cooperating with the spool and is Apivoted to a bracket 28by a pin 29. The bracket is Ksuitably fixed Vto the apron over the Yyokeplate or half washer 22 by screws passing through the bracket and yokeplate. The shaft 2l extends beyond'th'e forward Aendof the hub 20 andisloose within the hub, one end carrying-the driven gears which isadaptedto frictionally engage with the driving gear for transmittinglyconnecting the gears andat its opposite ends carries an abutment 'collar30, and a split segmental ring or compressiblecollar 3l disposed betweenthe abutment collar and a washer 32 upon the shaft 2l, the washer 32being backed up by a nut 33 screw-threaded upon the shaft 21.

' The outer face of the spool 24 is recessed i to house the abutmentcollar which bears l rWedgethe same between the washer 32 and abutmentcollar 30 to further separate said washer and abutment collar andkthereby move the shaft 21 longitudinally for compressibly engaging thefriction elements.

The opposing faces of the segment ring Y and abutment collar aremutually inclined for producing the wedging action between the-washerand abutment collar when the segment ringis compressed. The segmentring,

as ldisclosed in Figure 8, is preferably formed of three sections.

For the purpose of forcible and positive disengagement of the clutchmembers the hand lever is arranged to contact with the end of the shaftQ1 as the lever is moved to its neutral or downward position, the leverbeing provided with a lug or contact point 35 for engagement with theend of the shaft 2l. The hand lever thus directly engages the shaft soas to move the same for clutch release simultaneously with the movementof the spool, releasing the segment ring and which action will forciblymove the segments to an expanded or outward position and release thewedging infiuence between the washer and abutment collar.

In Figure 9, the frictionally coupled gears are shown as adapted to beclutched together by friction disks 36, 37, one set of disks 36 having akeyed connection withone gear and interposed between'a second set 37having a keyed connection with the second gear which may be substitutedfor the control type of friction. The structure and operation of thecone mechanism is substantially as hereto fore described.

The friction controlling mechanism is con axial with the gearsfrictionally coupled, some elements thereof being carried by one of thegears and other by the second gear for bringing the gears into and outof compressive engagement and forms avery compact arrangement formounting upon the lathe apron, the gears being located on the one orrear side of the apron while the controlling mechanism for the frictionis on the opposite or forward side of the apron so as to be accessiblefrom the forward side of the apron and when the gears are coupledtogether rotate with the gears but are housed anism-may be applied toother uses or in con-k nection with other types of machine tools.

WVhen the gears are frictionally clutched the abutment and collar 24form a unit with the gears, with the pressure or force for bringing andholding the gears into clutching vengagement sustained by the gears dueto the wedge engaging between the relatively opposing abutments on theaxes so that the rotating parts as a unit are all self-contained and thehand lever as a non-rotative part fulcrumed upon the apron merely servesto shift the collar 24 and forcibly disengage the gears aside fromhousing the axes of the gears and. operating parts. All the strainexerted in forcing the two friction gears together is en' fao tirelycontained in the revolved parts so that no pressure is exerted on anystationary part. Thus, lthe gearing is not subjected to any end thrusts:as would be the case if the forces were applied between a rotating andnonrotating part. The-rotating parts are disengaged by the handle when`it is brought vinto `engagement 'with the end of the shaft positivelydisengaging the gears, preferably by a shoclgas would be occasioned bythro-wing the handle downward forcibly striking `the end of the shaftwhereupon the shaft becomes stationary. f

'Having described my invention, I claim: v1. In a'device of theclassdescribed, a support, a sleeve element j ournaled in said support,a shaft element journaled in said sleeve element, friction clutch meansoperative to couple said elements upon their relative longitudinaldisplacement, opposed abutments on said elements, an interrupted ringyhaving lwedge .faces-adapted to engage. be-

tween 'said abutmerits upon radialcontractionofthe ring to'displ'ace theabutments and vtherewith their associated elements 'to engage theclutchvmean's, and means to contract said ring. v

2. In a device ofthe class described, a support, `a sleeve elementljournaled in said support, a shaftelement j ournaled in said sleeveelement, friction lclutch means operative to couple said elements uponvtheir relative longitudinal displacement, opposed abutments on saidelements, anfinterrupted ring having wedge faces adapted to engagebetweenY said abutments upon radial contraction of thering to displacethe abutments and therewith their associated'elements to engage theclutch means, and means tocontract-said ring, lsaid last-named meansinclu'dingwa collar slidable on said sleeve and an operating leverpivoted to 'said support.

*3. VIn adevice of the classdescribed, a support,:asleeve-elementjournaled in said supp"ort,ashaft element j ournaled insaid sleeve element,- friction clutch meansl operative to coupleisaidelements upon their relative vlongitudinal displacement, opposed.abutments on saidelements, Van interrupted ring ofcompressibleVmaterialhaving wedge faces adaptedto engage between 'saidabutments v*upon radial contraction of the ring to disaxis transverse=to said shaft and engaging said collar to shift the same, meansoperated by the collar when the lever is Vmoving away from the supportto displace the shaft outwardly of the support and engagethe clutch,

and means on the lever adapted, when the lever is swung towardl thesupport, to abut theend of the shaft. Y

5. In adevice of the class described, asupport, alhorizontal shaftjournaled inv said -support and projecting rectangularly Vtherefrom, afriction clutch in connection with said shaft, a longitudinallyshiftable clutch .operating collar-surrounding the projecting end ofsaid shaft, a lever pivoted to said support on an'aXis transverse t-osaid shaft and above the projecting end of the latter, Vsaid lleverengaging said collar to shift the same and having a hollow portionenclosing vthe collar and shaft end above and laterally thereof. i Y v6. In a device ofthe class described, a support, a .shaft journaled insaid support and said collar to shift the same, means operated 1 bythecollar when the lever is moving away from the supportato displace theshaft outwardly ofthe support and engage the clutch, and means on )thelever adapted, when the lever is swung toward the support, to abut theend ofthe shaft, said lever having a hollow portion enclosing the collarand shaft end above and laterally thereof. y

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name. f-

' FRANCIS i3. oooKBURN.-

-' place 'the abutments and therewith their asson ciatedel'ements to`engage the clutch means', j

and means to contract said ring,.said lastnamed means including a collarlslidable on saidfsleeve and'an'operating lever pivoted to said support.l

dfrIna deviceof the class described, a support, a shaft journaled insaid supportand vprojecting rectangularly'therefrom, a friction clutch.inconnectionV with `said shaft, a e

longitudinally shiftable clutch operating collarsurrou'nding theprojecting end of said shaft, -a lever pivoted Jto said support on Aanits

